Monthly Archives: September 2011

While Grandma L. was here last week, she introduced Nyan to the wonders of Tummy Time – which basically means putting him on his tummy, draped over a pillow, and getting him to lift his neck, to build up those muscles. We’ve done it several times since then, and can already feel his neck muscles are stronger. Not yet strong enough to hold up his head on his own – we still have to keep a grip on his neck, lest it flop forward. But still, it’s progress.

Here are five short video clips of Tummy Time from the past few days. (Having trouble embedding the videos into the blog, so I’ll put hyperlinks instead. Click away, but please come back after you’ve watched!)

The first video, from Sept. 6, is available if you click here.

Click here for a video from Sept. 7.

You can click here for the first of three videos from Sept. 11

The second video from that day is available by clicking here.

And click here for the third video of Tummy Time on Sept. 11.

Our baby can’t talk yet, of course. But he’s very communicative and vocal: when he’s hungry or needs a diaper change, he quickly and loudly lets us know. But Nyan has a whole host of other sounds he makes, and he has added to his repertoire in recent days. We’ve given them their own names:

R2D2 – when he’s working on the bottle and gets really into it, he starts making little beeping noises, sounding not unlike a robot.

The donkey – another favorite or eating time, this one is a combination of a wheeze and a loud exhale. (It’s hard to put sounds into words!) Sorta like he’s saying ‘hee-haw’ or ‘eeyore.’ Donkey-like.

The dove – this is a new one in recent days, and comes when he’s relaxed: Soft, gentle coos. Utterly charming.

Jungle birds – related to the dove and R2D2, he’ll just make random chirping noises that sound like a toucan or some other brightly colored bird. Maybe he picked these up when we took him, in utero, to Costa Rica in late winter…

He’s got other animal connections too. Among the nicknames that Auntie Emerald came up with for him was Froggy, because he will often bend his knees up and out, frog-like, and just sit there like that. He also has a maneuver we call the Great White or simply the Shark – that’s when he’s really hungry, or just in a mood, and as the bottle is getting near to his mouth, he’ll pucker up his lips and shake his head aggressively back and forth, like a great white grabbing hold of a seal.

Here’s a minute-long video of the boy showing off some of the sounds, along with a handful of hiccups. Just click here.